The Moment I Knew
by gabby227
Summary: Starts six years after 3A. Finding out that Deucalion wants to come to collect her more than special daughter, Lydia goes back to Beacon Hills, back to the pack, for protection. Can they defeat Deucalion and his pack a second time?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so this isn't my first story, but it's my first in the Teen Wolf fandom. I usually write The Vampire Diaries, so this is quite a transition for me. I'm really nervous about this, so please be gentle with me. Comments and criticism is always welcome.**

Stiles Stilinski had been through a lot. He had been part of the pack since Scott became alpha, all right? He had been there, through thick and thin, always helping Scott with whatever came their way. Sure, he had gotten a few broken bones and a few scars along the way, but it was the price to pay in the good vs. evil fight that he'd be in for the rest of his life. He'd known that werewolves, among other nasty creatures, went bump in the night since his sophomore year of high school, and going away to college wasn't going to change that.

He had made it through college in one piece, and even though he came back every now and again to Beacon Hills to help Scott and Derek fight whatever was out there, he felt good about it. When he decided to start up a service to help other people with supernatural problems figure out what the hell they were fighting, he felt good about that, too. He felt proud, prepared. He was prepared for anything.

-x-

The day that Stiles opened his front door and saw Lydia Martin standing there, he wondered if part of him had crossed over into the twilight zone. The Lydia Martin that he had grown up knowing looked fabulous _always_, and this Lydia…she stood there, tear tracks on her cheeks, dark circles under her eyes, and she looked like she hadn't slept in weeks. Her red hair was up in a messy bun and she wasn't wearing makeup, and the most surprising thing of all was the little girl on her hip.

Stiles just stood there for a moment. He was completely silent, which, even now, five years later, was an abnormality for him. He watched her closely until she let a tiny, awkward laugh, "Can I come in?"

He still couldn't find his voice and just nodded. Yeah, a nod would just have to do.

She set the child on the floor, and Stiles could tell right away that this was Lydia's child. She had her same big, expressive green eyes and the same red curls. She was a beautiful baby.

"I know it's been a long time," Lydia said, after a moment. She reached into the bag she had been carrying and pulled out a few assorted toys, handing them to her daughter. "I'm sure that, after I left and didn't contact anyone but Allison for the last five years, you aren't really keen on me being here, so I'm going to make this short." She sighed softly, taking a drink of a bottle she also pulled out of her bag. "This is Kristy. She's my daughter. She'll be one in a few weeks."

Stiles nodded, still trying to find his voice.

"She's Aiden's," Lydia said, and was that remorse on her face? "I went to MIT, like I always said I would, and he would come visit me. The pack would travel around, Deucalion added more pack members after the ones got killed here all those years ago. I know that you guys kicked the alpha pack out and everything, but Aiden…I felt something for him. It was a lapse in judgment, okay?" She sighed again, taking another drink. "About a year ago, he stopped coming around, which was fine, because that's about the time I found out I was pregnant. I don't want him, nor anyone else from that damn pack, near my baby."

Stiles just nods.

Lydia watched him closely, "I realize that you guys probably don't want to even acknowledge me. I mean, I just took off, and I fraternized with the enemy. I haven't even talked to you since I've been gone."

"No need to feel guilty that for that," Stiles said, finally, _finally_ finding his voice. "We get updates from Allison."

There was something that he was deliberately not telling her; not long after she moved to Boston, Boyd and Erica had moved there, too, saying that staying in Beacon Hills was kind of traumatizing, with getting taken by the alpha pack and everything, so they needed the change in scenery. Boyd got a job in construction and Erica became a personal trainer in a gym over there. Stiles wasn't sure if it was coincidence or what, but they managed to nab the apartment next door to Lydia's. When Erica had told him, Stiles had begged her to keep him informed about Lydia. Erica and Lydia had tentatively become friends; it was slow and took a lot of patience on both their parts, as Erica told him, but now they were really close. She had told him when Lydia had had her baby, but Lydia didn't know that, and she wasn't ever going to know.

"You look good, though," she said, snapping him from his thoughts. "Finally made some girl happy?"

"Uh, just Scott," he said, before realizing what he said and then laughed nervously. "I mean, uh, sorry Lyds, you still make me kind of nervous."

_Lyds_. It was a nickname that she hadn't been called in almost five years, since Stiles had really been the only one to call her that, and it felt good to hear it once again. Of course, if anybody else called her that, it felt wrong. She didn't have much tie to dwell on it though, as her daughter started to cry and she lifted her up, bouncing her in her arms slightly. She shushed her daughter, whispering things to her, telling her they were safe, even though Stiles could tell that Lydia didn't feel it. When Kristy had calmed down a little, Lydia dropped a kiss on her head, and she looked at Stiles, "I need your help."

"When people come to me, why isn't it ever a friendly chat that they're after?" Stiles asked, mostly to himself, but saw the grimace on Lydia's face.

"Stiles, I know you're an emissary now, but I know you're human. And more importantly, I trust you, and I trust Scott. He's a damn good alpha and I've known you forever. I need you guys to help me." She paused for a moment, taking a breath, "I think Deucalion's after my baby."

-x-

When Lydia walked into Scott and Allison's apartment the next day, she was ambushed by four-year-old Melanie, Scott and Allison's daughter. She wrapped her arms around Lydia's legs and said, "Aunt Lydia, I missed you!"

Lydia giggled. Scott and Allison came and visited her a few times while she was in Boston, and she had become kind of attached to the little girl.

"Mel, you gotta let me put Kristy down at least," she said. Melanie let go of Lydia's legs and she handed Kristy to Allison, who was right behind her daughter.

"Wow, Lydia, she's gotten so big since we saw her last," Allison said. Lydia nodded, picking Melanie up and holding her for a minute, giving her a hug, "You haven't seen her since she was about six months old. She's going to be one in a few weeks."

"Can you say Aunt Ally?" Allison asked Kristy. She just stared at her for a moment and then smiled, "Ally."

Allison beamed as Lydia put Melanie down.

Allison looked at Lydia, "They're meeting in the den," she said, handing Kristy back to Lydia. She led her through the apartment to the den. Once Lydia got there, she almost froze when she saw Aiden's twin.

She cleared her throat, "Ethan." She was pretty sure that her voice squeaked, but prayed that Ethan hadn't noticed. She knew that when Aiden went with the alpha pack, Ethan had stayed behind. He had way too much kindness and compassion to be with the alpha pack. Lydia was more surprised that Deucalion hadn't forced him to go with them.

"Hey, Lydia," he said, watching her closely. Or, more accurately, he was watching the child in her arms. "What's going on?"

"God, this is weird," she said, laughing nervously. "I haven't seen you in a while, but you make me think of your brother."

His face fell, but said, "Have you seen him recently? Aiden, I mean."

Lydia shook her head, "No, not in about a year."

"H-How was he the last time you saw him?"

"Have you cut off contact with him?" Lydia asked. She watched as Danny grabbed Ethan's hand and stroked his thumb over Ethan's. This probably wasn't a very comfortable conversation for him.

"He cut it off. When he went with the pack and I decided to stay, we had a fight. He didn't want any contact with me."

"I'm sorry about that, but in all honesty, you're in a better place. I know he's your brother, but Aiden…he isn't a good guy. I mean, he wasn't, like, a wonderful person before, but in the last few years, he's…" her voice trailed off. How was she supposed to tell Ethan that his brother was abnormally evil? "You wouldn't want to be around him. Trust me."

When Lydia stopped talking, she noticed everybody watching her. The silence was as far from comfortable as it could get when Kristy held out her arms for Allison. Lydia handed her over and Allison said lowly, "I'm going to put her in Mel's room. Those her toys?"

Lydia nodded, "She's got some DVDs in there. She's partial to the Ninja Turtles."

Allison raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

"Honest to God," Lydia said, laughing. "She's not really into the girly toys. Of course I would have a daughter who hates My Little Pony."

Allison grabbed Melanie's hand and they started walking away, but Allison's laughter filled the apartment. Nervously, Lydia took a seat next to Isaac on the loveseat that was on the other wall.

If anybody noticed how Lydia looked, nobody said anything. She knew she looked a little worse for wear, considering she didn't look like she used to. Aiden had really broken down her spirit. She felt like she was drifting off into her own mind, which was happening a lot lately, but she tried to continue to listen.

When she pulled herself from her thoughts, she noticed Scott was patiently waiting as Stiles cleared his throat.

She smiled weakly, as an apology, "I'm sorry, guys. I just…I get lost in thought lately. It actually been's happening a lot, in fact. So, let me start at the beginning." Lydia took a deep breath. "First thing's first. That was my daughter, Kristy. She's a few weeks away from her first birthday. She's also Aiden's daughter. He used to come and visit me, and we…" her voice trailed off. She was sure that Ethan didn't want to hear about that, as well as the abuse she had endured from Aiden's hands, so she skipped that part. "You can use imagination. Anyway, I don't think he knows about her, but I'm not sure."

"If Deucalion knows, then so does Aiden and every other pack member," Ethan said. Lydia nodded.

Kristy's a werewolf, of course, but she's also a banshee. I've been taking her to a specialist that was recommended by Erica and Boyd's new alpha." She hated bringing that up as well, but everybody knew that being an omega was dangerous, and Erica and Boyd had sought out an alpha and a pack right after moving to Boston. "We don't know one hundred percent how much banshee is in her, but last week she got really nervous. She was really fussy, and about five different times she let out this wail. It was a banshee scream. That wasn't the first time she had done that. It means something's coming. When Erica came over one day to babysit, she said our apartment had Deucalion's scent all over it. She'd never forget that scent as long as she lived."

Ethan looked down guiltily, but Lydia continued, "I can't be certain. But he's got eyes and ears everywhere. Just because Aiden cut off contact with me doesn't mean he knows about her, but it doesn't mean that he doesn't, either. And the fact that Kristy is half were, half banshee makes me inclined to think that that's why his scent is all over the building."

"Erica's the one who convinced me to come back to Beacon Hills. She convinced me that you guys managed to defeat the alpha pack once, maybe you can do it again. This is my daughter's life we're talking about here."

"Are you sure she's half banshee?" Derek asked, speaking up for the first time.

"When she howls as a werewolf, she lets out a banshee scream. Trust me, she's both."

"She howls?" Scott asks, surprised.

"Look," Lydia said, getting a little irritated. "I don't know anything about raising a werewolf, okay? I'm just winging it here. But yes, she gets agitated and lets out howls on the full moon. She has ever since she was about six months old."

"Does she transform at all?" Derek asked, getting interested. Lydia knew if Derek, a born werewolf, was getting interested, then something was definitely special about Kristy.

"Yeah. She shifted when she was born – from the stress of the birth, the medic said."

"A complete shift?"

Lydia nodded, "Yeah. A wolf."

Derek looked incredibly intrigued at that, "Howling starts early, from six to eight months. But shifting, that doesn't start until about two or three – and at that, only a few people can do a complete shift, like a full wolf. Mom, Peter and Laura were the only ones I knew that could actually do it. Your daughter is incredibly early."

Lydia nodded, "It's the banshee."

"Huh?" Stiles said, speaking for the first time. Huh. Now that she thought about it, Lydia was surprised that Stiles hadn't been talking their ears off already. She probably wasn't the only one who had changed in the last five years, she just never thought about it before.

Lydia sighed, "Look, I've made peace with it, because when I found out about it, it made me feel like a fraud. But banshees can…well, we can kind of tap into different wavelengths. Like, if Stiles says something to me, because of the banshee in me, I can easily understand what he is saying because I get the wavelength. I understand where he is coming from. It's kind of learning without speaking, or even without meaning to. I felt like a fraud when I found out about it, because maybe I wasn't really as smart as I thought I was, but it's just part of the earth, or some shit like that. She's been around other wolves, and they have some kind of unspoken links to each other."

"Not to mention," Lydia said, deciding she should add it, "her hair turns white when she shifts."

"A white wolf?" Stiles asked.

Lydia just nodded. A few moments of silence passed before Lydia added, "I'm a little surprised. You guys act like you haven't come across another banshee before."

"Other than you, they really don't show up here," Scott said truthfully.

"Well, Kristy's special. She's part were, part banshee, as I've already said, and the pack medic who birthed her told me that half and halves are a rare breed. That's probably why Deucalion is after her. I know I probably sound crazy paranoid right now, but if growing up here has taught me anything, it's just that sometimes it pays to be a little paranoid."

"Are you sure he'd be after her?" Scott asked finally.

"Am I sure?" Lydia asked, somewhat incredulously. "Scott, you're the one who handled Deucalion before he left. You're the one who ran the alpha pack out of town – well, what was left of them, anyway. You know how ruthless he can be. And now you're asking me if I'm sure? He's a collector of sorts, Scott. He _collects _unique werewolves. And, as far as I understand, Kristy's as unique as they get."

The meeting went on for a little while longer and Scott decided, while there was nothing they could do until Deucalion showed his face there, someone would always be around Lydia and Kristy, to protect them. Lydia felt a little worthless that she had to ask for help, but if it was going to save her daughter, she'd take it.


	2. Chapter 2

After the meeting, it had been decided that Lydia was going to crash at Stiles' apartment. He had an extra room, from when he and Scott lived together right after college, and all Lydia was going to have to do was set up Kristy's stuff in there. She had left most of their furniture and things in their apartment in Boston, so she'd have to go out and get a few things. She had purposely left them there just in case she decided not to stay in Beacon Hills. She knew her mom'd be happy to get her back, but she wasn't one hundred percent sure if she was going to stay. It'd depend on what happened with Deucalion and the alpha pack.

"You're kidding me, right?" Stiles said to Lydia that evening. "I don't do babies."

"You act as though I asked you to adopt her – which I didn't, by the way. I just need to go to the store to get a few things, like a crib. A few necessities. I just don't have anybody to watch her while I'm gone, and do you know how hard it is to shop with a baby? Let me tell you, it's not that easy."

Stiles still seemed pretty hesitant, "Why not ask Allison?"

"C'mon, Stiles," Lydia said, sighing, "Even Boyd babysat for me back in Boston. It's easy. She's had food and been changed, so all you need to do is entertain her for maybe an hour. She's got toys in her bag, or, hell, put in one of her DVDs. She hates girly shows, won't pay attention to them for anything, but she loves Transformers and the Ninja Turtles. Just sit her down and watch TV with her."

Stiles sighed, clearly thinking it over, "But, what if I break her?"

"You're kidding me, right?" Lydia asked. "You've chased down werewolves, kanimas, ghouls, witches, and things that could easily slice you up than look at you, and you're afraid of a baby?"

Stiles shrugged.

"Look, Stiles, it's fine. It would really help me out a lot if you would watch her while I run to the store. Please, do it for me."

Stiles sighed, and that's when Lydia knew he was defeated. "Look, I appreciate this. I shouldn't be gone too long." She kissed him on the cheek as thanks and then made her way out the door.

"So," Stiles said to Kristy after Lydia left, "I guess we should see if we can find something to watch." He rummaged through her bag until he found a Ninja Turtles DVD and then picked her up, placing her on the couch. He put the DVD in and as it started to play, Stiles sighed to himself, "This is really weird for me, kid. Is it weird for you?"

Kristy just stared.

"Yeah, it'd be easier if you could talk," Stiles said, mostly to himself. Kristy just giggled.

-x-

That night at Stiles' apartment was one of the worst Lydia had ever had with Kristy. She wouldn't sleep. She cried and cried, and accidently let out a few banshee screams. Around four AM, Stiles finally showed up at Lydia's doorway, "Look, Lyds, I know that I don't exactly keep regular hours, but night is for sleeping. I love you, and your daughter, but I don't know how much more I can take."

"It's because she's at a new place. She doesn't recognize you. Even when we stay at Mom's it's not this bad." Finally, Lydia got so incredibly frustrated that she just whipped her shirt off.

"Um…what are you doing?" Stiles asked, still in the doorway.

"I've got a sports bra on, don't have a fit. Werewolf babies need skin on skin touch. It helps them feel safer." Lydia started rubbing circles on Kristy's back just as they heard a knock on the front door.

She heard Stiles go and answer it with, "Hey, Dad, what's up?"

Lydia rolled her eyes and went out there, "Hey, Sheriff. Let me guess. Someone called the police on me."

"More than someone. We've had about four calls. And I could swear I heard her across town."

Lydia nodded, "Yeah, well, I'm not abusing her. Look at her," she said, still rubbing Kristy's back. Finally, _finally_, the baby stopped crying. After yawning, Kristy's eyes involuntarily closed.

"I wish I could say that this is the first time I've had the police called on me, but I would be lying. I've had the police called on me a number of times in Boston. I'm not abusing her. She just doesn't like new places. She's definitely got a pair of lungs on her, though." Lydia laughed awkwardly.

"He knows about stuff, Lyds." Stiles said. Turning back to his dad, Stiles said, "Kristy's part banshee. She just can't control her screams just yet."

"Is she going to be alright?"

Lydia nodded, "Yeah, she'll be fine. I'm sorry you got called out. I'm sure she'll be okay now that she's asleep."

"Well, alright. Goodnight, Ms. Martin, Stiles," the sheriff said in succession between the two of them. After he was gone, Stiles sighed, "You hear that Lyds?"

"What?" she asked, confused. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly. 'Night, Lyds."

-x-

"You want me to what now?" Allison asked Lydia, practically squeaking into the phone.

"I just wanted to ask if you'd take Kristy overnight tonight. So, will you?"

"And what are you going to do?"

"Look, Ally," Lydia said, sighing. "I need a break. I love my daughter and I need to protect her, but I can't do that if I don't get a break once in a while. Besides, I know that you and Scott can protect her. Also, Mel was so excited to see her before. It's been a long time since they've seen each other."

"What _are _your plans for tonight, Lydia?" Allison asked.

"I'm gonna get drunk," Lydia stated. Allison let out a disapproving sound so Lydia continued, "I don't want to do it while Kristy's here, and I just want some wallowing time. Ever since I got pregnant with her, I haven't had time to just sit and wallow. I've been too busy taking care of her. So just give me one night of wallowing, and I should be right as rain. I'd appreciate it if you and Scott would do this for me, please."

Allison sighed in defeat, "Fine, we'll do it."

"Awesome," Lydia answered. "Can I bring her over in about an hour? I need to go to the store anyway."

"Sure."

When Lydia hung up with Allison, she started getting herself and Kristy around to leave. Lydia Martin was far from fabulous as of lately, but she was going to try this time. A couple of hours later, she was on her way up to Scott and Allison's apartment, with Scott meeting her at the door.

"You sure you don't want company?" he asked as Kristy raised her arms, indicating that she wanted to be held by him. He lifted her out of Lydia's arms and into his own. "Ally told me what you're doing, and it might be easier with someone with you."

"I'm drinking tonight, alone. Well, unless Stiles is home, then I'll gladly accept company." She sighed, "Look, I know what you guys are thinking. I'm an irresponsible parent, having the two of you take care of Kristy while I'm getting drunk. But think of it like this: I don't want to do it while I'm supposed to be taking care of her. I want to make sure that Kristy's well taken care of, and for you, it'd be easy, since werewolves can't get drunk. For me, it's not that easy. I may not be a lightweight, but I still worry."

"I guess I can understand that," Scott said as he took Kristy's bag from Lydia. "So, how exactly _do _you take care of a baby banshee, anyway?"

"Just like a normal baby. Really, I honestly think she's more were than banshee, because she acts more like a werewolf. She does, however, let out banshee screams every once in a while, just so you know. She can't control it, and the pack medic said as she gets older, she'll be able to control it better."

"Okay."

"Look, I'll call or text you guys when I'm coming to get her tomorrow. Probably won't be until afternoon, though, depending on how bad of a hangover I get."

"All right. I'll see you tomorrow."

-x-

That night, when Stiles came home, he was secretly glad that both Allison and Scott had texted him to let him know what Lydia had planned, because he walked in a drunk Lydia. Her bottle of Absolut was on the coffee table – and she wasn't using a glass, she was just drinking from the bottle – and she had the radio on and was _dancing_.

"Hey, Lyds," Stiles said uncertainly. "What'cha doing?"

Lydia noticed him and then grinned, "Hey, Stiles. What's up?"

"What's up?" Stiles asked, somewhat incredulously. "Lyds, in case you haven't noticed, you're kind of being…loud."

Lydia checked her watch, "Hey, it's only half past eight." Lydia stopped dancing around and went over to the couch, patting the cushion next to her, "Come on, have a seat. Be my drinking buddy."

"Did you drink three quarters of that bottle all by yourself?" he asked, somewhat intrigued.

"Yeah," she nodded, "but I'm still not that drunk. Just a little."

Stiles came over and sat next to her, taking a swig of the vodka, "Why are you doing this, Lyds?" he asked her.

She shrugged, "I can't let loose very often. I wanna wallow, Stiles. I haven't been able to wallow because I have to take care of Kristy, to be responsible for her."

"What are we wallowing about?" Stiles asked, taking another swig of the vodka. He wasn't going to drink enough to get trashed, he had built up a pretty good tolerance trying to compete with Scott and the other werewolves (although, he realized a while ago that they can't get drunk, but hey, it took quite a bit for him to get drunk now, so that was always good).

"Aiden."

Stiles' face fell, "What about him?"

"Aiden's not a good guy," Lydia said, taking another swig. "He's really not. When I got pregnant, I wished to God that I had someone in my life to share it with. I was bringing a baby into the world, and I had no help. I had no one to share the excitement with, the excitement of the first ultrasound, the first time I ever heard her heartbeat. I had no one to make fun of me when I was eating chocolate ice cream and bananas at three in the morning."

"Chocolate ice cream and bananas?" Stiles asked with a look on his face. "Well, as far as pregnant lady food goes, I guess that's not _that_ bad."

"You should hear some of the other stuff I had. But, anyway, Aiden isn't a good guy, and that's what I wanted in my life. A good guy. Someone I could count on no matter what, someone that'd be there for both me and Kristy. But that's not what I got 'cause I don't deserve it. Do you know that I haven't had a single date since I got pregnant with her? Nobody's ever interested. They find out that I have a kid and they run in the other direction. I don't understand. What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you, Lydia," Stiles said. Man, this was starting to get depressing. "Those guys who weren't interested just didn't know you. Anybody who got to know you would love you."

Lydia watched Stiles for a long moment. Finally, absentmindedly licking her lips, she asked, "Wow. You really believe that, don't you?" Her voice was soft, almost so soft that Stiles didn't hear her.

"It's true." Okay, so now his crush was showing. While she was gone to Boston, to MIT, Stiles had tried to move on. Late in high school, they had become really good friends, especially with research. Lydia was a fucking genius, and Stiles was pretty smart too. So while she was gone, Stiles had tried to move on. Without Lydia being here to, well…be Lydia, Stiles had casually dated in college, dating a few different people. But when Lydia had showed up on his doorstep, everything he knew about moving on had flown out the window. He wasn't obsessed with her anymore, not like he used to be, but he was still very much in love with her.

Lydia placed her hand on his cheek, stroking his cheek with her thumb. Stiles licked his lips nervously; he wasn't sure what to expect here.

She leaned in and kissed him. A moan left his mouth; his crush, his very first love, was _kissing _him right now, and it felt phenomenal. He lost his mind for a moment while she attacked his mouth, but then, realizing what he was doing, he broke the kiss.

"What's the matter?" she asked, breathing heavily.

"I can't, Lydia. I'm sorry, but you've been drinking and I can't take advantage of you like that."

Lydia bit her lower lip as she thought (it was a bad habit she'd picked up back in Boston – Erica did it). Finally she said, "You wouldn't be doing that."

Stiles held her hand in his as he said, "You're drunk, Lyds, and I'm sorry but I can't do that to you. You may want something different when you're completely sober."

Lydia nodded, taking her hand out of Stiles' and ran it through her hair, "Yeah, I guess. Sorry about that, Stiles."

_Don't apologize to me,_ Stiles thought to himself. Lydia just sighed, took another swig of the vodka, and then stood up, holding her hand out to him, "C'mon, Stiles, dance with me," she said, smiling. "I wanna fucking dance!"

Smiling, he took her hand.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I want to thank you guys who have been commenting and those of you who are following me. I'd love some more comments, but what I have is pretty good, too. This story is going to have to go on a mini-hiatus for a while. I'm moving this weekend and I wanted to post at least one more chapter before I'm without internet. I should be getting internet by next weekend at my new apartment, but it's still kinda up in the air. Anyway, comments are loved. This story has been a pretty new experience for me, so comments are good things.**

**Also, I really should warn that, even though it's not a big thing, there are mentions of abuse in this story, mostly past. In case physical abuse and scars from said abuse are triggers, then maybe you shouldn't read it.**

Days passed, but they seemed to pass slowly. Whenever someone had to work, someone came over to babysit Lydia. Of course, that's not what they called it, but it was pretty much what Lydia called it. She couldn't leave the house without someone else present, and she couldn't even stay home by herself. By the third week, Lydia had major cabin fever. She needed to go out, but she wanted to go out _alone_. She was so tired of being watched 24/7.

Thankful that Stiles lived on the first floor, Lydia slid out the bedroom window. She jiggled her car keys between her fingers and drove herself downtown. She found herself in front of Minnie's diner, which, when Lydia was in high school, she wouldn't be caught dead in. It was one of Stiles' favorite places, mostly because of their milkshakes and bacon cheeseburgers. She sat down in a booth, ordering a piece of key lime pie and water.

"Ms. Martin," a voice said from in back of her. She saw Deucalion and Aiden approaching her, and she wanted to turn and run, but decided she wouldn't. Kristy wasn't here; she was safe back at Stiles' apartment with Isaac and Derek. If anybody could protect her baby, she knew it'd be Isaac and Derek. Especially Derek – who, in the last few weeks, had taken a liking to her daughter.

Finally, Deucalion and Aiden took a seat across from her as she sipped her water. When her pie arrived, she spent some time looking at it before taking the first bite.

"Where is your daughter, Ms. Martin?"

"_Our _daughter," Aiden corrected.

"She's not here with me," Lydia said, trying to keep a stone face. She tried to hide her emotions from them, but knew they'd be able to smell them anyway. "She's safe from you and your pack."

"Why, Ms. Martin," Deucalion said, folding his hands on the table in front of him, "Are you insinuating that we are going to _hurt_ her?"

"I'm pretty sure you are," Lydia answered.

"She'd be better off with our pack, Lydia," Aiden said, but Lydia just rolled her eyes.

"I take care of her fine," Lydia answered.

"She needs an alpha."

"She's got one."

Deucalion watched Lydia closely, "Who? Scott?"

"Scott's the alpha here," Lydia answered. "Boyd and Erica have an alpha in Boston, too. Why do you want her so badly?"

"She has potential. She's unique. There aren't a whole lot more half and halves like her."

Lydia swallowed the last of her pie. She was going to spit out a response, but then she heard Deucalion say, "Derek Hale. Are you the bodyguard today?"

When Lydia looked up, Derek had a hard look on his face. Lydia knew she'd have it coming – a lecture, or something.

"Lydia's done talking to you, Deucalion. My alpha and my pack are going to make sure that you can't hurt the child." He grabbed Lydia by the arm and he led them out of there.

When they were finally outside, Lydia looked at Derek, "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"Funny," he said, practically pushing her in her car, "I could ask you the very same question. Stiles doesn't know you're missing, but Isaac and Scott noticed. You scared them."

Derek got in the driver's side, holding out his hand as to silently ask her for her keys. She obliged, dropping them in his hand.

Derek was silent the whole drive back to Stiles', but Lydia could swear that she felt his anger. When he led her into the apartment, Scott looked at her, his eyes flaring crimson.

"Look, Scott -" Lydia started, but Scott cut her off.

"We're here to protect you, Lydia. Why do you think there's someone around all the time? We don't want him to hurt you."

"It's not even like that!" Lydia found herself screaming. She was tired of this bullshit. "Deucalion doesn't even fucking want me! He's after Kristy. He was there, at that diner. He didn't hurt me. Do I look hurt? Do I smell hurt? Do I have the scent of blood anywhere on my person?!"

Scott's eyes flared again, and Stiles stood in front of him, "Look, Scotty, you need to calm down. Focus on your anchor, okay? Otherwise, this is going to get really violent really fast."

Scott took a few deep breaths before sighing and his eyes went back to his normal brown as he said, "Lydia, I don't want you hurt."

"And I'm not. He's after Kristy. He and Aiden, they were at that diner. He was trying to make a deal with me before Derek came along." She sighed, "What's up with that, anyway? Sending out a guard dog for me? I was fine. I was going to walk out of there unscathed."

"A dog joke? Really?" Derek muttered, but Lydia just looked at him.

"You know Deucalion," Scott said, temporarily changing the subject. "Don't you remember the bullshit he inflicted on this town when he was here? He kidnapped Boyd and Erica for Christ sake!"

"I was completely safe. I felt no danger there. Look, Scott, I know you want to protect your pack and everything, but I'm not pack, and haven't been in a very long time."

Isaac, Stiles, Derek, and even Allison had gathered to see the showdown between the alpha and banshee. Finally, Stiles said, "Is that what you think? That you're no longer pack?"

"I stopped being pack when I left. I don't expect to be treated like you guys. I left. I'm grateful that you're helping us, but you don't have to. Why do you even care?"

"Because you _are_ pack, Lydia," Scott said softly. "You never stopped being pack. Not to us."

Lydia didn't know what to say, if anything, so she just sighed and walked off to her room, closing the door behind her.

-x-

Even after the confrontation between Scott and Lydia, most of the pack hung around Stiles' apartment after Lydia walked off. Derek was in the middle of playing with Kristy – building a castle with her, out of blocks, which seemed to be causing more problems than solving them – when Stiles snuck off to see Lydia.

He opened the door and slid inside silently. Lydia was lying on the bed on her stomach, face mushed into a pillow. He wasn't sure if she was sleeping or not, but took a seat in the rocking chair across from the bed anyway. After a few moments of silence, Lydia groaned.

"What do you want, Stiles?" She asked, her face still mushed into the pillow. It came out as a distorted mumble, but Stiles still understood what she said.

"Just to talk, Lyds. We were all really worried about you. Why'd you sneak off like that?"

Sighing, Lydia rolled over so she was lying on her back and watched Stiles for a long minute. She paused, shoving another pillow under her head before folding her hands together on her stomach. Finally, she said, "I can't take it. All the babysitting. It's been three weeks since I got here, and I haven't had a moment to myself since. I would really like to just be by myself sometimes."

"You would like to?"

"Yes!" Lydia exclaimed, sitting up. She pulled her knees towards her chest and looped her arms around them, "I'm used to being alone, Stiles. Other than Erica and Boyd, nobody has cared about being around me in a very long time. It was really difficult at first, to be alone with just my thoughts and Kristy, but I like it now. It's kind of my sanctuary."

When Stiles came over to sit beside Lydia on the bed, she flinched away. He saw how she reacted, how she looked afraid of him. He sighed, regaining the distance that had been between them. "What are you not telling me?" he said finally.

Lydia sat back up, running a hand through her hair, "Look, Stiles I just can't handle being around everybody all the time. You guys are my friends, my family, but I've changed a lot in the past five years. So have you."

"Lyds, before you left, we were friends. We figured things out for the pack and we were pretty damn great at it, if I do say so myself. What has changed?"

Lydia sighed, "If I show you something right now, will you promise it won't go further than this room? That you won't tell anyone, not even Scott?"

Stiles nodded, "Of course."

She pulled her shirt off, a lot like she had done that first night, but her hair was now up instead of down. And without her hair in the way, Stiles saw them. Most of her body was all scars, and a lot of them looked like claws. Stiles always figured that Aiden would get off on hurting others, but he had never imagined that he would do it to Lydia. Without really thinking about it, Stiles absentmindedly traced one of the scars on her back with his finger, and Lydia jerked away.

She pulled her shirt back on, "I don't want anyone to know. The scars I got from Peter are lower, mostly on my side. These scars, however, are from Aiden. He gets off on the pain factor. He liked a lot of pain to go with his sex. The only reason I got pregnant in the first place is because we fucked on a full moon – a stupid idea, honestly, because that really made the wolf take over – and I landed in the hospital for a few days. They were afraid I was going to bleed out."

"Lyds, I don't know what to say," Stiles said honestly.

"Then don't say anything," Lydia said. "I can deal with silence. I can't, however, deal with the looks of pity that I get whenever someone sees my scars. I've stopped wearing things that show off my body. Luckily, you can't really see them through the tank tops I wear, but I'll never forget the look on the nurses' faces when I was in the hospital. I don't want to be pitied."

She sat back down on the bed, "I'm alone most of the time, Stiles, because I like it that way. I know I'm safe. And yes, I know how to defend myself – I took quite a few self-defense classes in Boston, and Erica taught me quite a few things, too – but being alone means that nobody can hurt you. The only reason I let Erica and Boyd in to begin with is because they don't pity me. They know what happened with this whole supernatural shitstorm, and they are there for me anyway. Erica doesn't shy away from me if she gets pissed, she tells me what she's thinking. We've had quite a few shouting matches with her living next door and everything, but I need to make sure that nobody can hurt me. I don't want anyone to shy away from me because of the shit I've been through."

"I bet she had quite a few words for you when you and Aiden were hooking up," Stiles said. Lydia snorted.

"You have no idea."

"So, stop me if this is insensitive, because you know how I can get," Stiles started, "but do you have these scars anywhere else?"

Lydia's eyes darted around the room before she said, very softly, "Yeah. The reason you probably didn't seem them before is because you weren't looking."

"_Jesus Christ_, Lydia," Stiles said exasperatedly. "You've got them everywhere, don't you?"

"He got off on pain. Even if someone else was inflicting the pain onto him, he liked it. He just let his wolf take over though – in bed and out – and he's not the person that he was when the alpha pack was here, Stiles. He may have been a little bit ruthless then, but he's totally different now. He's totally unhinged. When Ethan asked me about him when I first came here, I didn't want to tell him – that would have been a lot of shit to take in, but Aiden is practically Deucalion now. Not to mention that Aiden's his second."

"Out of everybody, Deucalion chose that bastard as his second in command?"

Lydia rolled her eyes, "Aiden's changed. He may have had a little conscience when he was here, around his brother, but now…" her voice trailed off. "Now, he's evil. There is no stopping him. Honestly, I'm a little surprised he hasn't tried to overthrow Deucalion. They're not like a villain on his henchman. They're more like a villain. You know, two halves to one whole."

Silence had overcome the both of them, Stiles just sitting there, in the rocking chair, rocking slightly, as Lydia sat on the bed, her head lost in thought, before Stiles spoke up again, "We have to tell the pack, Lyds. They have to know. They think they're just dealing with the Aiden of six years ago. They'll have no fucking idea what to do if they think he's one way but turns out to be another. They have to know."

Other than letting out a sigh, Lydia was silent. Stiles could tell from just looking at her that, even though she was thinking it over, she really didn't want to tell anyone. So he changed the subject, "Lyds, what made you come to me? To us?"

That was a subject that Lydia would gladly talk about. She hated talking about the abuse, but this, this was safe. Looking at him, she said, "Erica. In the past five years, I've grown distrustful of werewolves. The only good ones I know, back in Boston, are Erica, Boyd, and their alpha. They've been good to me, looking after Kristy. But Aiden and Deucalion…they make me lose trust in the whole species. I've managed to subsequently mask Kristy's scent with Boyd and Erica's, since the four of us are around each other so much. From what I hear, there is no Boyd's scent, or Erica's scent. Aiden used to tell me that. It's just BoydandErica. But now, it's BoydEricaandKristy. It's like, it's hard to decipher which is which. But, since Kristy is half banshee, her scent is going to change, and we could only mask her scent for so long. Erica's been telling me that for months. But, after Erica smelled Deucalion's scent in the apartment building, that was it. She told me she was done."

Lydia took a moment and chewed on her thoughts before adding, "I came to you, Stiles, because you're human and I trust you. Even though you're human, and even though you don't have werewolf strength or any of that shit, and even after all these years, I know I'm safe with you."


	4. Chapter 4

**I want to thank you guys for sticking with this story. I'm finally moved, and, after two weeks, finally have everything up and running, finally settled and finally (FINALLY) have internet. I'm working on the next chapter right now but I'm having a bit of writer's block with it, so it might now come in a timely manner, and I'm sorry about that. Anyway, I'm loving the reviews, so thank you! **

At first, Stiles is a little dumbfounded. Lydia felt safe with him? Nobody ever felt safe with him. He was just the little human, the boy who ran with wolves. And even after all the emissary stuff, the magical things, he was never anyone's go to guy. Well, anyone except for Scott, but everybody knew about the bromance between the two of them. It wasn't a surprise at all when Scott had chosen Stiles as his second.

But Lydia? Why in the hell would Lydia go to him for safety? He was just a guy whose weapon just happened to be magic…and a baseball bat. Don't forget about that.

"You can't believe it, can you?" she asked with a slight laugh. He watched her, his eyes meeting hers, and she smiled. "You look a little lost. So let me make this perfectly clear. Yes, I feel safe with you. I mean, the rest of them, they're good and everything, but they're also werewolves. I know they've been werewolves for a long time, but Stiles, you're human. You're human, and you're a pretty kickass one at that. I trust you and your instincts."

"I, uh…I don't know what to say, Lyds," Stiles finally said. "I'm pretty fucking speechless right now."

Lydia laughed, "I'm going to take that as a compliment, considering that for the eighteen years I lived here, nobody could get you to shut your mouth."

Stiles just shrugged, but Lydia saw the small smile that was on his lips.

And then the moment turned serious. Stiles looked at Lydia, "The pack's still here. I think most of them were afraid to go because of your showdown with Scott. What was up with that, anyway?"

"Deucalion and Aiden are _not_ after me. They _are_ after Kristy. Anybody with a brain knows that. Deucalion isn't going to hurt me. I think, if I'm being completely honest, that Deucalion wants Kristy a hell of a lot more than he wants to hurt me."

"But he's untrustworthy."

Lydia shrugged, "Yeah, you're right. Both he and Aiden are untrustworthy _and_ unpredictable. But I know I'm okay."

"I really think we should take this up with pack. Lyds, I know you don't want to change Ethan's view on Aiden, and I know you don't really want to reveal what happened to you back in Boston, but it's something they've just gotta know."

Lydia sighed, "I know, okay? I know and I'll tell them soon."

-x-

Two week passed. Lydia still hadn't told the pack, and even though Stiles had promised her, he was about ten seconds away from telling Scott. Instead, though, he got Scott to call a pack meeting at Scott and Allison's apartment. When Lydia showed up with Kristy, she frowned at Stiles, "I've been ambushed."

"I'm sorry, Lyds, but the pack's gotta know."

"Know what?" Isaac asked. He always _was_ a nosy little shit. Setting Kristy down with a few toys, even though she knew for a fact that in a few minutes Melanie would come out here and drag Kristy back to her room, Lydia sighed and said, "So maybe I wasn't completely honest about Deucalion and Aiden. I mean, just a little."

Stiles snorted and Lydia rolled her eyes.

"What about Aiden?" Ethan asked.

Lydia sighed, sending a prayer to whoever was listening that Ethan took this well. Honestly, she was more worried about Ethan's reaction than anybody else's.

"Ethan, I didn't tell you this because I don't want you to have a bad reaction. He's your brother, and he always is going to be, and I know you love him. But Aiden's changed."

Scott nodded, "You said that much before."

"He's really different, okay? Look, I don't want looks of pity, or words of pity, so don't you dare fuc- I mean, freaking," she amended, looking at her daughter. "Don't you freaking dare look at me like that." She sighed and pulled up her shirt a little so they could see the few scars on her stomach. With Stiles, yeah, she just whipped the shirt off, but she still had _some_ modesty, so she didn't want to do that with the entire pack sitting around. She paused at a lot of their eyes widened.

"Now, before anyone says anything, Aiden caused these scars. He liked pain. I mean, he _really _liked pain. After the supernatural shitstorm that was here, he kinda let his wolf take over. He became a lot more…uh, more animalistic. He's different now. More about power, about pain, about domination. He and Deucalion are closer than they ever were. Aiden's his second, and they're, like, the same now. Like I told Stiles, it's not just a villain and his henchman. Not anymore. Now it's like one villain. You know, two halves to one whole."

Scott looked over at Stiles, "You _knew_?"

"Don't look at him like that," Lydia snapped. "I made him promise he wouldn't tell anyone. I wasn't going to tell anyone else. But he asked me and I felt compelled to tell him. I wouldn't be telling you any of this without his pestering."

"Is he…" Ethan's voice was kind of breaking, like he was trying not to cry. It broke Lydia's heart, to be honest. "Is he really that bad?"

She couldn't stand it. Ethan was such a good guy, from when she had known him, and she wanted to run over there and hug him. So that's what she did. She walked over to him, sat down next to him, put her arms around him and just hugged him for a long time. She felt her own tears in the corner of her eyes, but this wasn't about her. This was about Ethan – someone who was holding on to hope that his brother was still okay, and finding out that he had turned into a mini Deucalion, it just fucking broke Lydia's heart.

They sat there for a while, holding one another, and finally Scott made a sound. Ethan was still crying, silently, and Lydia said to Scott, "Not now, okay? All of this stuff can wait. This is what's important."

A few long moments passed where nobody said anything. Finally, Ethan pulled away from Lydia, wiping his eyes, "Thanks." Lydia nodded.

"So how bad is he, then?" Isaac asked. He got a few dirty looks, but he just asked, "What?"

"He's really bad. He's become a…" she paused, trying to find the right word. "I don't know if sadist is the right word for it, but it's pretty freakin' close. He gets off on pain, and the more pain the better. He's also really into torture – physical, sure, but emotional is what he's good at. Scaring the crap out of people, really making them question whether or not they're safe. Making people feel unsafe…just waiting and waiting until just the perfect moment. He gains their confidence, makes them feel at home and safe, and then attacks. He's really good at it, too."

"He sounds like a serial killer," Stiles muttered. Everybody else was incredibly quiet, just watching her, and Lydia felt like she couldn't stand it anymore. Finally, she exploded, "Stop looking at me like that!" she said. "I can't handle it. I'm fine; I'm here. I don't want anybody to know about this. I survived, okay? I've gone through worse torture here just being a banshee."

Ethan cleared his throat, "Lydia, I gotta know. Did he ever…" his voice trailed off, trying to figure out the right way to say it, "did he ever force you into anything?"

Lydia bit her bottom lip, trying to figure out how to phrase it. Did Aiden ever force her? Yes. The honest answer was yes, he forced her into everything that he could. He made her do so very many things, and he was both physically and emotionally abusive. He was a sadist, someone who got off on someone else's pain. The comment Stiles made about Aiden sounding like a serial killer wasn't that far off from the truth. Aiden had a lot of serial killer type qualities.

"Yeah. He did. But it's okay. I mean, I've got a little bit of PTSD, it's true, but I'm fine. As long as Kristy doesn't ever see that pack, I am fine. I'm okay. I don't want you guys to make a big deal out of this. I'm okay."

Scott nodded, "Okay. I get it. So," he said, looking at the rest of the pack, "Anybody got any ideas on how to beat them?"

-x-

Since Lydia had been at Stiles' apartment, she'd been nightmare-free. She'd had some really bad ones after Aiden left, and even worse ones when she found out she was pregnant. It figures that, after revealing everything to the pack, the nightmares would come back. The first night she had the nightmare, she got up around three AM, going out into the kitchen. She always made herself a cup of tea whenever she had had a nightmare. It usually worked, too. She went out into Stiles' cupboards, trying to find out if he had any tea. He didn't have any green tea, though, so Lydia had to settle with chai. Pouring the tea, she mumbled to herself that she had to go out and get some of her own green tea. She sat down at the island counter in the kitchen, sighing.

"Lyds?" Stiles' voice came drifting through the apartment. When he showed up in the kitchen, Lydia thought he was absolutely adorable. His hair was sleep-mussed, standing up all over the place, and he was walking like a zombie. He ran into the kitchen doorway, mumbling "ouch" to himself, and Lydia found herself watching him. He wasn't wearing a shirt, only boxers, and Lydia stopped for a moment. Damn, he had really filled out. He now had muscles where there didn't used to be any. He looked…really good.

Wait - did she call him adorable? She shook the thoughts out of her head. She couldn't start thinking of Stiles like that. Sure, he had had a crush on her during their childhood, and he _might _still like her, but he was her ally; her friend. And right now, she really needed at least one platonic human friend.

"What're you doing up right now, Lyds?" Stiles asked, sitting down on the kitchen stool next to her. "Are you okay?"

Lydia nodded, taking a sip of her tea, "I'm fine. Just had a nightmare. The question really is, what are you doing up?"

"I'm a light sleeper. Since all the supernatural shit, I've been a lighter sleeper than I used to be. You never know when something supernatural-y is going to happen, and I like to be prepared."

"Is that why you sleep with a baseball bat next to your bed?" Lydia asked. Stiles looked surprised.

"I was stuck in this apartment for three weeks in a row, Stiles," she said, like that answered the unasked question. "I did a little snooping when I was bored."

Stiles just shrugged, "Yes, that's why. I need to be prepared."

Lydia smiled softly, "That's okay. I sleep with a knife in my nightstand drawer, next to my bed."

"That's not really going to stop a werewolf."

"It is when it's laced with wolfsbane," Lydia said. "I had the pack emissary back in Boston make it for me. It's done me a lot of good in the past."

"Very ingenious, Lydia," Stiles said, sounding like approval. Lydia smiled.

"It's what I do."

There was a moment of silence between them before Stiles said, "Do you wanna talk about it, Lyds? The nightmares, I mean."

She really shouldn't. She didn't really want anyone to know her pain. Sure, Erica knew all about it, because they were really close and Erica didn't know how to take no for an answer. It would be nice though, if someone here in Beacon Hills could understand her a little bit more. Finally, she caved, "Sure. I mean, if you want to."

Stiles shrugged, "It's fine. I'm good at listening."

"The first nightmare I had after Aiden left. Every time he'd leave, I would go home and cry. But no other guy was wanting to ask me out. I always told myself that I would quit whatever I had with Aiden in a heartbeat if I could find someone else who was interested. But nobody was, so I'd continue with him. The sex was pretty great…I mean, yeah, it was a little too rough, but I got used to it. The worst nights were the nights of the full moon. He really became unhinged then. But anyway, I had nightmares of Aiden hurting me, killing me, cutting my body up into little bitty pieces. Sometimes I would dream the things that he had done to me before. He had put me in the hospital more than once.

"But then, after I found out I was pregnant with Kristy, it started to get worse. I'd dream that he'd kill me and take off with her. Because, I mean, technically, she is his daughter, too. Or that he'd just kidnap her. There's no way me, a banshee, could even find him. I'm practically human. All I do is sense death. I'm one of the easiest creatures to kill. With those nightmares, I started taking self-defense classes. They had a class at the college, and I needed to make sure I could protect both myself and Kristy. And, even though I was taking self-defense classes, Erica and Boyd insisted on teaching me things that would help defend myself against a werewolf. I know about mountain ash, and, even though I'm not a spark, like you, I can still use it. Wolfsbane, however, has become one of my best friends. But, even though I know how to defend myself and my daughter, I still get really nervous around werewolves. I try to remember that Scott and Isaac and I have known each other for years – since before they became wolves, and I try to remember that Derek is practically an overgrown puppy, but nothing helps. I'm afraid of all that power they wield. They have a shitload of power in them, and if they wanted to just let go and let the wolf take over, they could tear me into pieces. That thought scares the shit out of me."

Lydia absentmindedly licked her lips, and she saw that caught Stiles' attention. But she didn't have time for that. "I get that you and Scott are brothers, and have known each other forever. I mean, hell, I've known you guys since preschool, but that doesn't stop my fear. It's irrational, and I hate anything that's irrational."

"'s not really that irrational," Stiles said, yawning. "It makes complete sense, if I have to be honest. You've been hurt, more than once, by werewolves, so of course you're going to be a little apprehensive around them. I understand it completely."

"Stiles," Lydia said, trying to hide a smile, "You really need to go back to bed. You're exhausted."

"Can't," he said, resting his head on his arm on the island counter. "I've gotta stay up to make sure that my beautiful strawberry blonde roommate is okay."

Lydia blushed at the compliment; it'd been a long time since someone had called her beautiful. She tried to hide it the best that she could, but it felt really good for someone to call her beautiful – especially with everything she had been through in the past few years.

"Really, Stiles," Lydia said, standing up to rinse her mug out and put it in the dishwasher, "You need sleep. It'll be good for you." Stiles shook his head, which was still on his arm, and Lydia was sure this was the only way for her to get him to bed, "Would it help if I went with you?"

That made Stiles' head snap up, "Uh, what?"

"Just what I said. I'll go to bed with you."

"With?"

Lydia sighed, "Yes, Stiles. If I go to bed with you. You know, you and me, in your bed. Just to sleep." She added the last part in case he was like a regular perverted guy who always had sex on the brain.

"Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Lydia said, nodding. "C'mon, it'll be nice to have someone to cuddle with after a nightmare."

Stiles nodded, "Sure, I guess."

Lydia could tell that Stiles was a little uncertain. Sighing, she finally took his hand, entwining their fingers and led him to his room.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: So I don't really have an update schedule. This story kind of owns me right now. I'm always writing it in my head, even when I shouldn't. Yeah, I know I'm pretty annoying to pretty much everybody, but I have to thank my husband because he's really patient about everything. I'm not going to let this story go like the others – which, I finally got them off my flash drive (it was a bitch doing, by the way) so I'm going to be working on those, too, just FYI. Comments/concrit is really important to me, it helps me become a better writer. And as always, thanks for the reviews that I've already gotten!**

Oddly enough, things didn't get weird after that. This confused the hell out of Lydia; things _should have _gotten weird. She knew Stiles, well the Stiles from six years ago, would have made a bigger deal out of this than necessary. When Lydia woke up the next morning, it surprised to her to realize that she had actually slept until noon. Her first instinct was to check on Kristy. Shit, if she slept until noon, Kristy had been up for hours. She leapt out from under the blankets, and checked her room first. Kristy's crib was empty, so she slowly made her way out into the living room. What she saw, she did not expect.

Stiles had bathed and dressed Kristy. He had fed her. And they were watching TV on the couch, Stiles holding the little girl. Lydia wasn't sure what the hell was going on, because this wasn't the Stiles from a month and a half ago. Something different was happening.

"Hey, Stiles," Lydia said slowly. He turned around as Kristy stood on the couch, her hands gripping the back.

"Mama," Kristy got out and Lydia smiled.

"Yeah, baby girl, I'm here," she said, picking up her daughter. Then Lydia looked at Stiles, "What's going on?"

"You had a nightmare," Stiles explained slowly, as if it was the most obvious answer in the entire world. "I thought you could use the extra sleep."

Lydia dropped a kiss on Kristy's forehead, "Yeah, but it's today. I needed to be up today."

Stiles shrugged, "What's so special about today?"

"It's Kristy's first birthday."

Stiles' eyes widened, "Really? It's her birthday and you're _just now _telling me about it? We need to give her a party."

Lydia shook her head, "That's not necessary. We're just going to have lunch with my mom. We don't really need much more than that."

"Lyds, you're pack. Your daughter's pack. It's her birthday. We need to give her a party. Or at least a pack party." He got up and pulled his phone out of his jeans' pocket. "Do whatever you wanna do with her today, but meet me at my dad's tonight. Around six."

"Uh, okay," Lydia said, not one hundred percent sure what the actual hell was going on here, but she had decided not to question it. It didn't do well to question Stiles; you barely ever got a real response anyway. Nobody thought like Stiles did.

-x-

Of course, Lydia couldn't go to lunch with her mother alone. Finding out how much Aiden had changed over the last few years had made the pack even more protective of both Lydia _and_ Kristy. Scott finally put his foot down and said that that Lydia could go anywhere she wanted, as long as one of the pack went with her. Most everybody had jobs except for Derek, so he usually accompanied her whenever she wanted to go somewhere. He did work with Stiles sometimes, but they must've thought that babysitting Lydia would a better use of his time. It wasn't like Derek needed the money, anyway.

"It's good to see you, Darling," Natalie Martin said to her daughter as Lydia entered the house, followed, of course, by Derek. Natalie smiled at him, too, "It's good to see you too, Derek. How's your uncle?"

Derek smiled, "He's good. He's been asking about you. He's really smitten."

Natalie grinned and Lydia was confused, "Something is happening here," she finally said, handing Kristy to Natalie. Natalie started talking to her granddaughter and so Derek took a minute to explain things to Lydia.

"Peter and your mother," Derek said, hoping that Lydia wouldn't freak out by the news, "they're kind of a thing."

"Kind of a thing?" Lydia asked, her voice rising a little. "What kind of a thing?

Derek smiled for a moment, "He's, uh, well, he's _courting_ her."

Lydia's eyes widened, "What?!" she asked. "How can you even allow that?! How can _Scott_ even allow that?! You_ do _remember what he did to me when he became the alpha, right?"

"He's different now. Since you've been gone, Peter's changed. He's a law abiding citizen, part of the pack. He's changed."

"Uh huh," Lydia said sarcastically. "I totally believe that."

"It's actually really creepy," Derek said after a moment. "He really likes her. I mean, I haven't seen him like this with anyone since the fire."

It wasn't often that Derek brought up the fire, so Lydia wasn't going to push. She just rolled her eyes.

Natalie gave Kristy back to Lydia and said, "I've got lunch fixed in the kitchen. And yes, I actually cooked."

"I didn't say a word," Lydia said. She didn't really have to; everyone knew that Natalie Martin's cooking skills were practically nonexistent. "Not one word."

Her mother had made just a grilled chicken salad for them to share, and had cooked some French fries for Kristy. Lydia had known that she would; French fries were, after all, Kristy's thing right now, and whenever Natalie had come up to see her daughter and granddaughter in Boston, she had always liked to get Kristy's favorites. Conversation passed easily, with them eating and chatting.

Finally, Lydia decided that she would just go for it, "So, Mom, how come you never told me about you and Peter?"

Natalie practically choked on the drink of coffee she had just taken, but recovered quickly, "What about us?"

"Well, Derek tells me you two are kind of a thing."

Natalie hesitated, and then Lydia's eyes grew wide, "Holy crap, you weren't even going to tell me, were you?"

"Well, Sweetheart, I know that you and Peter have…issues."

"Well, yeah, we have issues. He left me bleeding out on the lacrosse field! I could have died."

"But you didn't," Derek added. Lydia glared at him.

"Not helping," she said.

"Things have changed a lot around here, Lydia," her mother said, trying to ease the tension. "Peter's not as bad as he was. I mean, granted, I never really knew him when he was the alpha, but still…he's good now. Sane. We have lunch twice a week and sometimes we go out to dinner or catch a movie."

The one thing Lydia had been afraid of since, hello, _werewolves_, was the fact that her mother could get hurt at any time. Lydia understood why Stiles had kept the sheriff out of the loop for as long as he did; he didn't want his father to get hurt. Lydia's dad had died only a year after her high school graduation and she didn't want to lose her mother, too. But this was different. Peter Hale had been a threat the last time she had been back in Beacon Hills, and she was worried that he would end up hurting them. That was the one reason she hadn't allowed Peter to be around Kristy yet, even though he was, technically, part of the pack.

"Do you like him?" Lydia asked softly. She noted the surprised look in both Derek _and_ her mother's eyes.

Natalie nodded, "Yeah. I like him a lot, actually."

Lydia nodded, "Okay, but if he does anything to hurt you, he's dead. And this time, I'll make sure he can't come back from it. I can be very…_creative_."

-x-

When Derek and Lydia got to the Stilinski house later that night, Derek went inside, but Lydia didn't follow him right away. He had Kristy in his arms as he walked through the house, but Lydia stayed on the front porch. She hesitated at going in right away because she wasn't sure what to think of this. Sure, they were pack, _family_, but she barely knew them anymore. She'd been back in Beacon Hills for a month and a half, and she realized that things were changing. For one, she was feeling things for Stiles that she shouldn't. It all started last night, when he tried to comfort her after her nightmare. Why he even cared anymore, Lydia had no idea. And while their cuddling wasn't anything romantic, it still felt good to be held. The closeness of him with her had been a huge comfort, and she felt safe. It was the first night in a long time that she had slept the whole night. Sure, other nights she didn't have nightmares, but she woke up several times a night, mostly because she didn't feel safe. But Stiles, even with his humanness, made her feel safe. She knew that Stiles could protect both her and Kristy if he needed to – and Stiles was a loyal bastard. He'd never let anything happen to her – let alone anyone in that pack. They were his family.

Lydia was nervous. She wasn't sure _why_ she was nervous. She had known these people forever. And sure, what she had told Stiles last night about being afraid of the werewolves was true; the wolves had a lot of power, and Aiden was a prime example of what could happen when you just let your humanity go. He wasn't a human anymore; he was one with his wolf. Lydia knew Scott was a good guy and would never let that happen, but there was always the allure of the dark side – holy shit, did she just really think that? Wow. She really had to spend less time around Stiles. It was bad enough he had roped her into watching Star Wars with him – which, even though she'd never actually admit it to him, she actually kind of liked.

Melissa McCall stepped out onto the porch, and Lydia was torn from her thoughts. Melissa just smiled at her.

"What're you doing out here?" she asked. Lydia took a moment to just look at her. She hadn't actually seen Melissa since she got back to town, but she was still beautiful. She had aged a little, but she had aged very gracefully.

"Just thinking," Lydia answered. "Sometimes my thoughts kinda get away from me."

Melissa laughed, "Sounds familiar."

"Why don't you come in," Melissa said after a few moments of silence. "While this really is for Kristy, the rest of the pack'd like to see you, too. "

Lydia nodded, "Sure. Of course."

She wandered into the house. She saw Kristy on Ethan's lap as Kristy and Melanie watched a Winnie-the-Pooh movie that Melanie had in, and Ethan was deep in conversation with Scott. Lydia wasn't sure how Ethan was taking the news of his brother, and she worried about him.

"Lydia, come sit down," Ethan said, noticing her. Lydia must have been watching them for a little too long. Lydia shrugged, going over and sitting on Ethan's other side. "I wanted to talk to you," he continued, "about Aiden."

"Look," Lydia said, suddenly nervous about what he wanted to say, "I've thought a million times that I shouldn't have told you about Aiden's changing ways. Yeah, he's gotten more ruthless than he did with you around, but he's still your brother, and you love him. That's how family works."

"That's actually _not_ what I was going to talk to you about," Ethan said, and Lydia relaxed a little. "Just tell me this, though. Are you afraid of me? Because I look like him? Because it seems as though you don't really hang around me, and I haven't actually spent any time with Kristy since the two of you got here. If you're afraid of me, I understand, considering – "

"I'm not afraid of you, Ethan," Lydia said, cutting him off. "I mean, yeah, you're Aiden's twin, and yeah, sometimes it weirds me out how much you two look alike, but then again – twin. It's a lot to take in, though – the fact that you're here and Aiden's…not. The two of you are as different as night and day."

"It's just the Kristy is my niece," he said. "I'd like to get to know the two of you."

"Well, I'm planning on sticking around for a while," Lydia told him honestly. "I have absolutely no ambition to leave Beacon Hills, at least not yet. I'm about three years away from my doctorate, and I was thinking about transferring to Berkeley. That way I'm close, but still living my life."

Ethan nodded. The party went on after that, with dinner – just takeout pizza, and Lydia was surprised that Stiles even let the sheriff have some meat lover's. Then they did presents for Kristy and Lydia was absolutely floored at the pack's generosity. Most of them made noise ("That's an uncle's prerogative, Lydia!" Scott had exclaimed, and Lydia and Stiles had both just glared at him) and they stayed until almost nine o'clock. During that time, Lydia had learned that Melissa and the sheriff ("Call me John, Lydia, please," he had said) had gotten together, making Stiles and Scott literal brothers, and had gotten married last year. She moved into the Stilinski house with the sheriff but didn't want to sell her house. Scott was talking about buying it from her and moving in there, but they hadn't made any decisions yet.

During the course of the party, Lydia found herself sneaking glances at Stiles. She noticed that he was more open to spending time with Kristy. Not that he didn't before, but Lydia remembered a month and a half ago when she and Stiles had the "I don't do babies" conversation. The thought made her laugh.

Stiles had made brownies – and Lydia noticed that Stiles was still taking care of the pack. Back in high school, when Stiles was anxious, which was a lot of the time, he took up baking. The joke was that if the pack hadn't been werewolves, they would have been two hundred pounds, at least.

Finally, when they were back at Stiles' apartment around nine thirty that night, Stiles had taken Kristy and put her to bed (Lydia had changed her clothes while they were at Stiles' dad's house) and when he came back out into the living room, Lydia was sitting on the couch with a hot mug of tea in her hands. She had actually went and bought her own green tea that day, in-between being at her mother's and then at the sheriff's. Stiles plopped down beside her and sighed.

Once again, Lydia thought about how Stiles sure had changed in the month and a half that she and Kristy had been staying there, and her mind went back to that first night. "What if I break her," Stiles had said, and considering the way he treated Kristy now, the thought made Lydia laugh.

"What's so funny?" Stiles asked.

"I was just thinking that you've gone a long way from the 'I don't do babies' and 'What if I break her' conversation we had when we first got here. You've really taken to her, I see."

Stiles smiled, "She's addictive. I don't know what to say, Lyds, she's got your charming personality."

"Stiles, she's a year old."

"Yeah, well, nobody dotes on that little rug rat as much as Derek though, have you noticed? She's got him wrapped around her adorable little baby finger."

It was true, Lydia had noticed it. Derek had really taken a liking to Kristy, and Lydia figured it was because he was all about family. After taking Cora back to South America after the Darach nightmare, he really didn't have any family, other than Peter. And Derek had told Lydia himself that he was afraid to get into any more relationships, considering the last two girlfriends he had tried to kill him. Well, he wasn't sure if Jennifer Blake tried to kill _him_, but she was killing people, and that was enough for him.

"Hey, Lyds?" Stiles asked, snapping her back to reality. Lydia took a sip of her tea and looked at him.

"Scott told me what you told Ethan. You're not going back to Boston?"

"I'm torn," Lydia answered. "Erica and Boyd are there. And Erica and I have become pretty close, living next to each other for almost six years. If I stay here, I'm going to miss them like crazy, and I know Boyd'll miss Kristy. You think she has _Derek _wrapped around her finger? Boyd's ten times worse at least."

"Boyd, really? He's so…serious," Stiles answered and Lydia laughed.

"Whenever Erica's working and I need someone to watch Kristy, I always ask Boyd. He took good care of her and they both really love Kristy. Kristy and I may be pack here, but Erica and Boyd are my pack, and not going back to them is going to be a difficult decision. I haven't made up my mind what I'm going to do, but I do want to continue my doctorate."

"I miss them, too," Stiles answered after a moment. "It's been a long time since I've seen them face to face, but Erica and I used to talk almost weekly."

"I haven't talked to them since I got here," Lydia said thoughtfully. "I really ought to call them, or Skype them, at least."

Silence filled the living room, but Lydia noticed a long time that the silences between herself and Stiles were never uncomfortable. She enjoyed just being with him, and that thought almost scared her.

"Hey, Lyds?" Stiles said again, filling the silence. "What was that last night? I mean, did something happen between you and me?"

Stiles was asking the very question that had haunted Lydia's thoughts almost all day. Was there something between the two of them? She could feel her thoughts threatening to come through her head, so she turned to him and said, "I don't know. All I know is that last night was the only night since I've been here that I've actually slept all night. I feel safe around you, Stiles."

"I know. I mean, you told me that much last night. I still don't understand why."

"I know you can protect me and my daughter. I mean, I can protect us, to a point, but you are fiercely loyal and I know you're not going to double cross us. It's a great feeling. You know, to actually know that someone is there for us, no matter what. I mean, I went to Boston and practically ignored you for six years, but you still let me in. Why did you let me in, Stiles?"

"Because you're pack, Lyds. I love you. Not like that – I mean, my crush probably never wore off and you're more beautiful than you were six years ago, and you take care of your daughter, you were dealt a bad hand, but you've turned it around, and you're even more amazing than you were when we were in high school, but we're pack. We're family. If Derek and Cora taught me anything, it was that pack is family. They're there for you, and while not all family is pack, all pack is family. We love each other and we take care of one another. Even with Isaac, the guy I cannot stand eighty percent of the time, I know I can trust him because he's pack."

There were a few minutes where nobody said anything. They just looked at each other, and Lydia's gaze kept flicking down to Stiles' mouth. God, that mouth looked like it was made just for kissing. Stiles had changed a lot since high school, Lydia noted, but the biggest thing that surprised Lydia the most was that he really hadn't, at the same time. He was like this in high school, but she was just too stuck up to notice.

"If it's okay with you, Stiles," Lydia said, tearing her gaze away from his lips, "I'd like to sleep in your bed again, with you. It's nothing romantic – it's just that I really like the closeness. It makes me feel safe."

_Liar! _Her head screamed at her. She wanted something romantic with Stiles. It was an urge that was there, and it grew every fucking day. It was something she wanted more than anything, but she was afraid to make a move, so platonic is what she was going to settle for. Stiles nodded, silently, and Lydia smiled softly, "Thanks." She went to put her mug in the dishwasher and made her way to bed, leaving Stiles with his thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I just wanted to thank everyone for the response I've been getting to this story. I was so freaking scared when I posted that first chapter, but your reviews have given me the confidence I needed to keep going, so thank you! **

The second morning in a row that Stiles woke up next to Lydia, he was elated. And yeah, last night he kind of told her that he still had a crush on her, but he wasn't surprised when she didn't return the sentiment. She was Lydia Martin, after all, and she was fucking perfect. It may have bothered him a little bit, he wasn't going to lie, but she probably had better prospects than skinny, geeky Stiles Stilinski.

It was eight o'clock when Stiles got up, and Lydia and Kristy were still sleeping, so Stiles checked his email first. It was something that he'd been slacking at lately, but he needed to be able to be contacted if anybody had a job for him. There was an email from an alpha in Los Angeles who was dealing with some strange occurrences. After a little bit of research, Stiles wrote back to her and told her that she was dealing with faeries – the one creature that Stiles hated more than anything, especially since they had tried to take him away from the pack more than once – and asked her if she wanted him to come and deal with them. He did that for his clients, for extra. All in all, his business went great. The clients paid generously for his advice, and even more generously for him to come and take care of the problem. He usually worked with Derek and Danny, who he had become really close to over the past few years. Never in his mind did Stiles ever think that there'd be more to his relationship with Derek than sarcastic comments and death glares, but they were close. Not as close as Scott and Stiles, mind you, but near that.

"What are you doing up so damn early?" Lydia's voice was laced with sleep as she came into the kitchen and started the coffee maker. Lydia was almost as bad as Stiles was now with coffee. She needed it to function, and nobody got in between Lydia and her morning coffee.

"Couldn't sleep," Stiles said, turning away from his laptop and turning to look at her. "The question is, why are you up so early?"

Lydia shrugged, "I like to keep to a schedule. Kristy'll be up soon, and I like to be up before she is. When I wake up, you're usually gone."

"Yeah, well I've been dealing with pack stuff. Scott's looking for Deucalion."

Lydia rolled her eyes and shook her head, "He shouldn't. Deucalion and Aiden'll kill everyone if they think it'll get them to Kristy faster. I'm not going to let you guys die for us."

She poured her cup of coffee, added some milk and a little sugar, and went over to sit beside him. "I know that is what you do with pack," she said, stirring her coffee, "but I feel like we need to earn it. I've been away so long, Stiles."

"There's nothing you have to prove to us, Lyds. You were pack before and you'll always be. I don't care what happened to you back in Boston. You'll always be Lydia Martin, the girl I've loved since the third grade."

Okay, so maybe he was an idiot for admitting that to her. He knew he probably shouldn't have, but it left his mouth before he even meant it to.

"Well, thanks, I guess," Lydia said, blowing on her coffee before taking a sip.

A few moments of silence passed, but it was different. With other people (well, other than Scott, let's be honest), Stiles was almost always babbling about something. Sure, he'd gotten pretty mellow during college and didn't even need his Adderall anymore, but a lot of times, he was running his mouth to kind of cancel out the silence. Here, now, though, he didn't have to. The silence between himself and Lydia, it almost felt…right.

"I've gotta drive down to LA today," Stiles said almost five minutes later, after getting a confirmation back from Alpha Moore. "I usually take either Derek or Danny, or both, with me. Is that going to be okay?"

Lydia laughed, "Shouldn't you be asking your alpha that?"

"I know that you think Scott is being unreasonable," Stiles said after a moment of thought. "But he's really not. We're afraid for you. And I know you, Lydia. You're not going to put Kristy in danger. Hell, I know that if anyone comes for Kristy, you're gonna do everything in your power to make sure they never get the chance again. You're fierce, Lyds, and while that's a good thing, it's also putting you in danger."

"She's my daughter, Stiles. It's my job to protect her. That's what a parent does – they protect their child, no matter what. Ask your dad, ask Melissa – it's what they're supposed to do. And Kristy's special. Her being half banshee and half wolf is going to put her in danger probably her entire life. I'm going to make sure that she's safe."

"Maybe I shouldn't go to LA today," Stiles said, taking a drink of his coffee. Lydia sighed.

"Look, go to LA. Take Derek and Danny. I want to spend some time with Ethan anyway."

"Really? Ethan?" Stiles asked, surprised.

"What?" she asked him, noting his reaction. "Am I not allowed?"

"It's just that…well, since you've been here, you've kinda been avoiding him. Scott and I figured that it was just because of Aiden…how he changed, and how Ethan's his brother, and Ethan probably reminds you of him."

"Last night, at Kristy's party, Ethan asked me if I was afraid of him. I'm not, not really, because logically, I know that they're different. Stiles, Ethan is so far from Aiden it's almost comical. They've never really been alike – I mean, even when they were still part of the alpha pack, they were never the same. Remember how, when they were supposed to be keeping tabs on me and Danny, that Ethan had more compassion than Aiden? Ethan's got a good heart. I honestly didn't expect him and Danny to still be together, I give him that. It's not that I'm afraid of him, or that I don't like him – I don't really know him. And when he told me yesterday that he'd like to get to know me and Kristy, I figured, why the hell not? I know he's not going to hurt me, and if Scott trusts him enough to be in his pack, then I can trust him around my daughter."

"He's not a bad guy," Stiles said after a moment. "And if you can spend some time with him, then yeah, I think you should."

-x-

It was an eight hour drive from Beacon Hills to LA one way, and even though Stiles knew that Lydia and Kristy would be safe with Isaac and Ethan protecting her that day, he still worried. He spent the first four hours of the drive worrying out of his freaking mind. Finally, Derek reached over and smacked his arm, "You're going to drive yourself crazy."

Deciding to play dumb, Stiles shrugged, "Huh? I have no idea what you're even talking about."

"Sure you don't," Danny piped up from the backseat. "Dude, even I know you're freaking yourself out and I don't have super human senses like he does. Lydia's going to be fine."

"You don't know that," Stiles said, sighing. "I mean, sure, she's with Ethan and Isaac, and I know they won't let anything happen to her, but when we talked this morning, she seemed...I don't know man, she seemed like she was so sure that Deucalion and Aiden are gonna kill everyone in their way. I mean, she knows them better than we do, right?"

"You can't do your job well if you're just worrying about Lydia today," Derek said. Stiles shot him a dirty look, so Derek sighed, "Look, I know that you're in love with her. Everyone knows how you feel about Lydia Martin. And I get the concern. I'm worried about her and Kristy, too. But I know that Ethan and Isaac are gonna take care of her. They both really like Lydia, and they both fucking adore that little girl. But if you spend the remainder of the day worrying about it, you could very likely get killed while trying to do your job. Just concentrate on that. I know that Ethan or Isaac will call either me or Danny if something goes badly."

Danny nodded, "Yeah. Things are going to be fine."

-x-

Lydia was nervous. In her head, she knew that Ethan was absolutely nothing like his brother, and she wasn't scared of him – she _wasn't_. Like Lydia had told Stiles earlier that day, Ethan and Aiden were so different that it was almost comical. But she never really did spend much time around Ethan, so she wasn't really sure _what_ he was like. She stood outside of Danny and Ethan's apartment door for the longest time, just pacing back and forth. What the fuck was wrong with her, anyway? She was Lydia Martin. She was absolutely fearless. Lydia Martin didn't worry about things; she got shit done when it needed to be done. She didn't worry about trivial things.

But, as a voice in her head kept reminding her, this wasn't exactly trivial. Her daughter's life was on the line here. And Lydia knew that Deucalion wouldn't outright kill Kristy; he wanted her. He wanted to collect her, as creepy as that sounded. No, the person in danger here was Lydia herself.

Finally, after about twenty minutes of pacing back and forth, the apartment door swung open and Isaac was standing there. His blue eyes watched her green ones and then said, "Ethan and I both could hear you pacing out here, and so I figured I'd give you time to get over whatever freak out you were going through out here. But it's been almost twenty five minutes, so please, come in. We're not going to hurt you, you know."

"I know," Lydia said, picking her daughter up off the step next to her and picking up her bag. "I'm not afraid."

Isaac just raised an eyebrow.

"I keep forgetting, werewolves," Lydia muttered, mostly to herself. She sighed as Isaac stood aside so she could get inside the apartment. "I'm not afraid of you guys. And, contrary to popular opinion, I'm not afraid of Ethan, either. There's just...there's just a lot going on right now and I'm not one hundred percent sure where exactly my head is at."

"It's okay," Isaac said, sounding somewhat comforting. "It happens to the best of us."

Even though Lydia was really worried about how things were going to go that afternoon, she was pleasantly surprised when things went well. The conversation was light and Lydia realized that both Isaac and Ethan adored her daughter. The pack had seemed to really take a liking to Kristy, and that made Lydia happy.

"So, when are you two gonna get together?" Ethan asked her out of the blue as Lydia was fixing Kristy something to eat. Lydia looked at him quizzically.

"Huh?"

"You and Stilinski," Isaac said. "In case you weren't sure who we were talking about. We all have eyes and can see the way that you two look at each other. We can see how he watches you when you're not looking, or how you look at him when he looks away. And the lust you two are carrying for each other? God, it fucking reeks."

"It's nothing," Lydia said, cutting up some hot dogs for Kristy to eat. "Nothing's happening between me and Stiles. Nothing's gonna happen between me and Stiles, because nothing _can_ happen. He's a nice, _platonic_ human friend, because I need one of those right now."

"Allison doesn't count?"

Lydia rolled her eyes, "Sure she does. But Stiles gets it. I don't know, he just...he's there for me right now. I appreciate it. I'm not going to screw that up by jumping into bed with him."

"But you have feelings for him," Ethan said, grabbing a beer out of the fridge and then sitting at the dining room table.

Lydia set Kristy down with her hot dogs and then, after grabbing a bottle of water, sat down at the table beside Ethan, "Sure. I do. He's a good guy. But I am not going to screw this up. Do you know how long it's been since someone of the opposite gender even looked my way? I haven't had a single date since I got pregnant with Kristy. Nobody's interested. My hormones are going crazy and yeah, I want to jump him. But I'm not going to jeopardize everything for that. My daughter deserves better. She deserves people who are going to protect her."

"This is just bullshit," Isaac piped up, leaning against the dining room wall. "I mean, the two of you want each other. Anybody with a working werewolf nose can tell, too. Neither one of you are fooling anybody. I don't see why not just admit it and move on from there."

Lydia licked her lips absentmindedly, "I'm afraid, okay?!" she snapped. She sighed and then looked at Ethan, then Isaac in turn. "I haven't been involved with anyone since I got pregnant with Kristy. Aiden...well, he really messed me up. I just worry. I don't even know if I'm gonna stay in Beacon Hills after this whole mess gets straightened out. I want to finish my doctorate, and I'm even thinking about going into teaching, but I haven't made my mind up yet. What happens if Stiles and I get involved, get really serious, and then I decide I don't want to be here anymore? I mean, I can't do that to Stiles. I was enough of a bitch to him in high school, I can't break his heart any more than that. I just can't do it."

It became so quiet in that room that you could hear a pin drop. Ethan and Isaac looked uncomfortably at each other, and then at Lydia, before Ethan said, "Sorry, Lydia. I didn't mean to push. I just want to see you happy."

"I don't know if that's even going to happen," Lydia answered honestly. She took a drink of her water before adding, "I like him, you're right. I want something with him." It felt really good to admit that to someone other than herself. "I really want something with him. And Stiles – he's a good guy. He's always been a good guy. I just...I don't want to hurt him."

"So you're going to suffer in silence?" Isaac asked.

"Look, guys, I appreciate that you're trying to play matchmaker between me and Stiles. It's actually kind of sweet. But it's just not happening."

Isaac nodded as Ethan said, "Okay. I'll drop it." But somehow, that didn't really make Lydia feel satisfied either.

-x-

"God, it's good to see your face," Erica said to Lydia over Skype that night. "You look good, Lyds. How've you been? How's Kristy?"

"She's fine," Lydia answered. "She's sleeping. I went over and saw Ethan today and she kind of wore herself out."

"Really?" Erica said, sounding surprised. "You actually went and saw Ethan?"

"Why does everybody keep asking me that?" Lydia said, mostly to herself. "Yes, I went and saw Ethan. Isaac, Ethan and I spent time together, we bonded with Kristy, and when she was taking a nap, we played a few rounds of Halo."

"A video game?" Erica asked incredulously. "Seriously, Lydia Martin _voluntarily _played a video game? After years of Boyd and I constantly bugging you to play with us?"

Lydia shrugged, "Sure. I mean, why not? It was fun."

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with Lydia?" Erica asked sarcastically.

"Believe it or not, Erica, that is not why I called you."

"I'd love it if you'd tell me why, then," Erica answered.

"Stiles," Lydia said. Erica just watched her.

"Yeah, Lyds, I'm gonna need a little more," Erica said. "What about him?"

"I have feelings for him. I'm trying hard as hell to keep it as platonic as possible. I could use a few platonic human friends, you know? But it's getting harder every day. Not to mention, Kristy fucking adores him. Actually, she's really taken a liking to most of the pack. I just…I don't know what to do, Eri."

"I think you should do what feels right," Erica said. Lydia sighed in frustration.

"That tells me absolutely nothing."

"Why not ask him out? I mean, the worst that can happen is that he says no."

"Actually, that's not true and you know it," Lydia said. "Stiles is in love with me. I was sure that he'd moved on when I first got here, but I've noticed the way that he looks at me. He's even mentioned that his crush never went away totally, but I'm…I'm in like with him. I'm not in love with him, not yet, but I like him a lot and I just…I don't want to jeopardize anything."

"Well, talk it out with me," Erica said, taking a drink of the soda she had next to her. "Maybe I can help you understand what you're thinking and feeling."

So Lydia started talking. She started talking about how her feelings for Stiles were growing, about how she wanted to be with him. She told her what she had told Isaac and Ethan earlier that afternoon, and how she wanted nothing more than to be together with him, but didn't want to hurt him. Even though they never got together in high school, Stiles was a good guy and he was loyal and always made sure that she was protected. She was so fucking confused.

Her phone buzzed with a text, so she checked it and saw a text from Scott. **Stiles is staying in LA 2nite, **it said. **Ally & I are coming over to stay with u and Kristy.**

"Great," Lydia mumbled. When Erica asked was going on, Lydia told her that Scott was coming over to babysit her and Kristy that night.

"They care about you, Lyds," Erica said. "Scott's really trying, you know. Despite what anybody thought about him being the True Alpha, he's actually really good at it. He's taken to it amazingly. I hear that even Peter's in his pack."

"Ugh," Lydia groaned. "Don't even talk to me about Peter Hale right now."

Erica looked confused, so Lydia added, "Eri, Peter Hale and my mom are a _thing_."

"What kinda thing?"

"A serious thing, with a capital T," Lydia groaned. "They're, like, dating or something. Derek said he's fucking _courting_ her. Do you realize what this means?"

"That if Peter and your mom get any more serious, there's a serious risk of Peter becoming your new dad?"

Lydia groaned, "Ugh. Just shoot me now."

"Look, back to your situation with Stiles," Erica said, deciding it was best to change the subject. It was always best to change the subject when someone brought up Peter Hale to Lydia. "Lyds you need to ask him out. You deserve to be happy, and so does Stiles. I think the two of you would go well together."

Lydia bit her bottom lip and was silent for a few moments before she said, "Fine. When he comes back tomorrow, I'll ask him out. I can't take the goddamn peer pressure."

Erica just smiled sweetly, "You know that I'm only doing what's best for you. And don't worry – you'll thank me later."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I had a chapter seven on here, but I really didn't like it. I felt it was too rushed, and I wasn't crazy about the ending, so I rewrote it. If you read it before, you need to read this one, because it's a lot different. Also, note the rating change. There is smut at the end of this chapter, and mine is pretty explicit, just so you can't say I didn't warn you.**

Lydia sighed at her reflection in the bathroom mirror for what seemed like the hundredth time in the last ten minutes. She couldn't do this She had decided that she was going to take Erica's advice and ask Stiles out properly. She had a plan. Lydia Martin didn't do anything without a plan, okay? And she had even gone so far as to write a speech – or, at least, what counted as one. She was only going to use it if she found herself not sure what to say – which was a quality that Lydia didn't really have, but hey, anything could happen. She had been the most popular girl at Beacon Hills High School for a reason, after all. But, looking back at her reflection, she decided that she couldn't do this. She wanted to; God, did she ever. But she just couldn't.

The thing that was baffling her the most was the fact that Lydia didn't fret over stupid things like asking boys out. Hell, she was the one who had made the move on Jackson back in the seventh grade, and then again, it was she who had made the move on Aiden sophomore year. She wasn't scared of boys. She'd never been scared of boys. But this time, here with Stiles, it was different

Stiles had been in love with Lydia for a long time He had mentioned once or twice that he'd been carrying a torch for her since the third grade, and for some reason, the way that Lydia had treated Stiles before, when they were kids, made her want to be better to him. After all, Stiles _was _a good guy. He was honest and loyal, smart and strong – and she wasn't just talking about physical strength, either, although he had gotten a lot more fit since she hsad been gone. No, Lydia was talking about his will, his whole being. He was emotionally strong, having been through hell and still standing. Stiles was one of the strongest and most put together people that Lydia had ever seen.

Lydia wasn't in love with Stiles – she _wasn't_ She had come to admire certain things about him, and she appreciated him a hell of a lot more now than she did before, but she didn't love him. She was in _like_ with him – and good God, she really did like him – but it wasn't love. For the first time in her entire life, Lydia's brain wasn't working the way that it should; none of her thoughts were coming out quite right Normally, Lydia thrived under pressure, but right now, nothing was making sense She was just trying to figure out a way to ask Stiles to dinner. It was an easy question, and she was pretty sure it was also a guaranteed yes, but she was fucking scared. She had never been scared to ask out another person, not ever.

"That's it," she said to her reflection. "I just can't do this. Erica's wrong. Isaac and Ethan are wrong." She sighed heavily before growling in frustration. She couldn't do this, and she knew it. "What the fuck makes him so special, anyway? He's just a guy. C'mon, Lydia, you've asked tons of guys out in your life. What's so fucking special about this one?"

Lydia knew the truth, though; there were about a million different things that made Stiles special. He was unique, and even though Lydia rejected the whole _unique is better than normal_ thing back in high school, she was all for it now. Stiles thought differently than everybody else and he was fucking smart, okay? He had gotten them out of more binds than anyone else because of the way he thought.

Lydia was frustrated. Since it was after three o'clock in Beacon Hills, it meant that it'd be six in Boston and Erica would be home from work. She booted up Skype and logged in. Since Erica had the app on her phone she was always logged in, and Lydia video called her.

"Hey Lyds," Erica said when she accepted the call. "Wow, you look like shit."

Lydia forced a smile, "Gee, thanks Eri, that's _exactly _what I wanted to hear."

Erica just laughed. When she noticed the pained expression on Lydia's face, she stopped laughing, "What's up?"

"I can't do this, Eri," Lydia said. "I can't ask Stiles out."

"You're a fucking banshee who has actually battled supernatural creatures and ran with a wolf pack for several years, and you're afraid of asking out a guy?"

Lydia groaned, "Why do you have to put it that way? I know it sounds ridiculous. He's just a guy."

"You can do this, Lyds," Erica said, "although I don't know why you need a pep talk. You've never needed a pep talk to ask any other guy out in your life, have you?"

"That's just the problem," Lydia said.

"You like him, that's the problem," Erica said. Lydia just looked unimpressed.

"I know you were the one to make the moves on Jackson and Aiden, but that was years ago. How old were you when you got together with Jackson?"

"Thirteen," Lydia mumbled.

"Exactly. And Aiden came when you were seventeen. You're completely different now. A lot of really deep shit has happened since then. You have every right to be a little scared – you've been through a lot in your life."

"A _little_ scared?" Lydia asked incredulously. "No, I'm not just a little scared. Hell, I'm fucking terrified."

"I wish I could help you. Just buck up and do this, Martin. I know that you can do it, and Stiles really likes you. And I know that you really like him, too."

It was then that Lydia heard the front door to the apartment open and close and then Stiles called out, "Hey, Lyds, you here?"

Erica laughed, "I'll leave you to it, then, Lyds. I want an update after your first date." And with that, Erica disconnected the call.

Lydia knew it was now or never, so she walked out into the apartment and walked straight up to Stiles. He smiled when he saw her coming, but his brown eyes were watching her, intrigued. Lydia could tell that Stiles wasn't one hundred percent sure what was going on, but that didn't matter. Knowing that it was now or never, Lydia absentmindedly licked her lips before going up to him and kissing him.

She didn't expect the kiss to be very good; in fact, she figured it would suck. She had way too much anxiety in her to give him an incredible kiss, but when their lips met, the kiss wasn't terrible. When their lips slotted together, Stiles let out a low moan. It made Lydia want. She wanted more of him, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as she attacked his mouth with her own. Stiles was so totally on board with kissing her, but after a minute, he broke the kiss and looked at her.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you or anything, Lyds, and believe me, I totally am, but what's going on?"

"I like you Stiles," Lydia said, deciding to just be bluntly honest. She needed to just get it out. "I really like you, in fact, and I was wondering…do you wanna catch dinner or something?"

"You're asking me out? Like, on an actual date?"

Lydia just nodded dumbly.

"Wow," Stiles said, which honestly almost sounded like a squeak. "You want _me_? I'm no one's first choice. Well, except for Scott, but you know how tight he and I are, and –"

"Look, Stiles, you don't have to go on an all-out rant," Lydia said, cutting him off. "This is actually pretty nerve wracking for me, so a yes or no would be fine. I'd actually prefer it. So, what do you say?"

Stiles nodded, a small smile on his lips, "Yeah. That'd be pretty awesome."

Lydia couldn't hold back her grin.

-x-

"Come on, Lyds. They raised me and Scott, I'm pretty sure they can handle a one-year-old for a few hours." Stiles was in the living room of his apartment, dressed in a pair of grey slacks and a green button up shirt that Lydia insisted "made his eyes pop", feeling so very uncomfortable because he hated dressing up He was always one for jeans and hoodies, or flannel shirts, or even graphic t-shirts, but definitely not dress clothes. It just felt wrong to him. He had always hated dressing up, no matter the occasion, but right now, he was trying to reason with Lydia. "I know you're anxious about leaving Kristy, but Dad and Melissa are the best there is, okay? Unless you want to leave her with your mom."

"Not with my mom, no," Lydia said. "Knowing my luck, the minute we left, the alpha pack will ambush them and…" her voice trailed off. "Maybe we just shouldn't do this."

"No, I'm not letting you do that this time," Stiles said, slightly agitated. "Not again."

It was almost three weeks later and they were about to go on their date. Well, hopefully. They had to reschedule it three different times because the same thing always happened – it was what was happening now. Lydia was afraid to leave her daughter. She had never really been apart from Kristy for something as trivial as a date, and she was worried that the moment she got out of sight, Deucalion and Aiden would come for her.

"Dad carries a gun. He has several in the house. In fact, Chris taught him how to make wolfsbane bullets, too, and he has a ton of those. He's even used them before, so he know how, considering this is Beacon Hills and danger just doesn't give us a day off. We've had rogue werewolves and every other fucking thing you can think of. Dad will protect Kristy.. You know that, right?"

Lydia sighed, "Yeah, I do," she said finally. "But I can still worry, okay? It's a mother's prerogative, after all."

"Look, Melissa isn't working tonight, and Scott, Ally and Mel are gonna be over there, too. Scott's a good alpha and he will protect Kristy. You know that. Please, Lyds, you deserve a night off sometimes, too."

Finally, Lydia just nodded, "Okay, Stiles. Sure. I'll just go finish getting ready."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Stiles said, plopping down on the couch and looking at Kristy, who was pretty entranced in an episode of _My Little Pony._ He sighed and Kristy looked at him, her big green eyes just watching his brown ones.

"You know, Kristy," Stiles said, sighing, "Your mama just worries way too much. You're going to be just fine with your Uncle Scott, right?"

Kristy just babbled back at him, not really saying anything at all. Kristy did say a handful of words, but she never used any of them unless she damn well wanted to.

It only took Lydia half an hour to get ready, coming out into the living room, and Stiles couldn't help it. Every time he saw her, she just took his breath away. Because of the scars, Lydia didn't really like showing off her body that much, but she was wearing just a nice, simple green dress. She looked nice, but not overly dressy. She looked simple and very beautiful.

"You look nice, Lyds," Stiles said, his voice soft. Lydia just smiled, "Thanks."

Lydia almost freaked out when they arrived at the sheriff's house to drop off Kristy. Stiles wanted to go in, but Lydia said, "I can do this if you want. I just wanna talk to your dad for a minute about Kristy. It won't take very long."

"I'm going to go in with you," Stiles said after a moment. "No offense, but I don't think I trust you."

"That hurts, Stiles, really," Lydia said sarcastically.

"So how different is a banshee baby than a normal baby to take care of?" Melissa was asking. Lydia just shrugged.

"Not that different, I guess. She's a normal baby. The only thing you've got to watch out for is that she lets out banshee screams every so often. She can't help it. The pack medic back in Boston told me that she'd be able to learn how to control it as she gets older. The banshee screams are the worst, though. Let me put it this way: if she lets one out, I'll know it, because I'll be able to hear her from three towns over."

"Things are gonna be fine, hon," Melissa said. "I remember what it was like when I left Scott with someone new for the first time when he was a baby. It's nerve wracking, I know, but John and I are going to take good care of her."

"Just…" Lydia's voice trailed off as she thought about what she wanted to say. "I know that Deucalion and Aiden are out there, and I know they want Kristy. Please protect her."

"You have nothing to worry about, Lydia," the sheriff, who Lydia didn't even realize was in the room, was saying to her. "You have my word. Nothing bad's going to happen to your daughter tonight."

Lydia smiled briefly, "Thank you."

-x-

"I made reservations at the new French place in town," Lydia said. "I figured since I asked you out, I'd pay for it."

"I guess, if you want to," Stiles said. "I feel a little weird about taking your money, though."

"Don't do that macho man bullshit with me, Stilinski," she said. "Jackson was always like that. He wouldn't let me pay because I was the girl. I _am_ paying for you, whether you like it or not."

Stiles shrugged, "Fine. I don't have a problem with that."

Dinner went really great. The conversation, which was what Lydia was worried about the most, flowed almost flawlessly. Stiles had really changed over the years; he was no longer awkward and unsure of himself. He was laughing and flirting with her, and it felt nice. It felt really nice to be with a guy who found her attractive. With Aiden, it was all about sex, but he never even told her she was pretty. Having someone acknowledge that they thought she was aesthetically pleasing made her feel really incredible.

After picking up Kristy and driving back to Stiles' apartment, Lydia put Kristy to bed and then met Stiles in his bedroom. She had taken up sleeping in there. She didn't feel any safer than she did when she was all cuddled up to Stiles – and boy, was Stiles ever a cuddler. He didn't even mind being the little spoon, which really kind of made Lydia happy. Unlike Jackson and Aiden, Stiles was pretty secure in his masculinity – he didn't worry about feeling macho at, like, all.

When she met Stiles in his bedroom, the first thing she did was lunge forward and kiss him. The feeling of his lips on hers was a feeling that she could easily get used to – she had gone the last two years without any contact with someone like that, and now that she had it, she was almost drunk on the sensation.

Still kissing him, she started unbuttoning his shirt. When he realized what she was doing, he broke the kiss, looking at her, "Are you sure, Lyds? I mean, I know it's been a while for you –"

She snorted, cutting him off, "It's only been a couple years," she said. He shrugged.

"Still," he said, his eyes watching hers, "I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything. I'm happy with you just being here with me. I've been perfectly happy just cuddled up to you at night."

One of the things that Lydia loved about Stiles was the fact that he didn't expect anything from her. He always made sure that she was comfortable, and Lydia was pretty sure that Stiles didn't know how to take advantage of _anyone_. Lydia took half a step back, her hands over Stiles', and said, "I'm sure. Trust me, Stiles, I won't do anything I don't want to do."

Stiles nodded, and Lydia finished unbuttoning his shirt, peeling it off of him and threw it behind her. It landed in the laundry basket and Stiles laughed, "Good aim." Lydia snorted. Licking her lips, she pushed him backwards so he landed on his back in the middle of the bed, and she straddled him. Leaning down to kiss him, she whispered, "Is this okay with you?"

For a moment, he reminded her of the awkward, sixteen-year-old virgin he had been once upon a time. He took a deep breath, "Jesus Christ, Lyds, it's so good, so, so good with me. I'm totally up for whatever you wanna do. So okay."

His rambling made her stifle back a laugh. She kissed him once more before grinding her hips down onto him and he let out a moan.

They made out for a few moments and it felt awesome. Finally, deciding she had had enough, she slid off of him and started unbuttoning his pants. He lifted his hips so his pants and boxers slid off with ease, and Lydia licked her lips as she looked at him hungrily. He had really changed since she had been gone, and god damn, had he filled out. Planting a kiss on his lips, she started kissing her way down his body, and then, with her eyes never leaving his, she took him into her mouth.

Lydia wasn't a huge fan of blowjobs – they were all right, they just weren't her favorite thing to do – but she was good at them. She licked him from base to tip before relaxing her throat and taking him as deep as he would go. As his cock hit the back of her throat, she hummed around him, and Stiles almost lost it. When she looked at him again, his eyes were closed and his mouth was halfway open. As she took him into her throat, he groaned.

"Shit, Lyds, close," is what he said, and it amused her how he couldn't even string together a simple sentence. Licking him once more, she pulled off with a dirty _pop_.

"So, so good," he said, once he got his breathing under control. She smiled at him smugly. She was really glad that she could do that to him.

He sat up, stripping her dress off of her and kissing her lips gently. Once he got her all the way undressed, he lay her down and said, "God, Lyds, you're fucking perfect." He kissed his way down her body, starting with her lips, but she shook her head and he looked at her. "What?" he asked her

"Don't want this right now, Stiles," Lydia said. "I want you, inside me. I need to feel you"

Stiles shook his head, "No way, Lyds. It's been a long time for you and I intend to show you just how much I care about you. I'm going to worship your body like you deserve, not fuck you like some kind of fucking animal. You deserve to be loved, Lydia, and that's exactly what I intend on doing."

Lydia wasn't sure what to say. She had never had someone look at her the way that Stiles was looking at her right now. Not Jackson, and definitely not Aiden. This whole thing made her extremely uncomfortable, so she said, "Don't, Stiles Don't do that to me."

"Do what?" Stiles asked, confused.

"The way you're fucking looking at me like I'm something special. I can't handle that. It's making me feel uncomfortable."

"Lyds, you _are_ special," Stiles said, kind of hating himself for making them have a heart to heart while he could be making her come "You are so very special, and neither Jackson nor Aiden could appreciate you the way you deserve to be appreciated"

Lydia was silent, so Stiles said, "I love you, Lyds, and I have for a very long time. I think you are very special and I want to show you how special I really do think you are. Now shut up and let me make you come."

The last part seemed so out of character for Stiles that Lydia laughed, but it made her feel better, so she said, "So sorry, Stiles Please, continue"

"Thank you," he said sarcastically, and Lydia felt something in her chest. As he kissed his way down her thighs, spreading them open and licking up her slit, Lydia felt that same thing in her chest again. Sex had never been like this with Jackson _or_ Aiden; it was never fun. But right now, here with Stiles, this sex was _fun_. She felt like she could say or do anything, but when with them, it had to all be seriousness. She was really starting to like this uninhabited sex, and wanted to tell him as much, but as he went down on her, Lydia's thoughts were pulled in a completely different direction.

Stiles was just so _good_ at this, at eating her out, that she briefly wondered how many girls he had gone down on to get this good. When that thought entered her mind, she shook it out almost immediately. She didn't _want_ to think about how Stiles was so good at what he was doing; she was just thankful that he was. She didn't care about _how_ he got his experience as much as how he was making her feel using it.

Her orgasm came almost unexpectedly; when she came, it hit her with the same force as a freight train, it was that intense. She bit her bottom lip so hard she tasted the metallic tang of her blood, but she didn't want to run the risk of waking her daughter. Stiles sucked up her come and he groaned at the taste. As he climbed back up her body, he said, "God, Lyds, you taste just as good as I always thought you would."

"You thought about this a lot then?" she asked, and for some reason, it didn't bother her at all that Stiles just admitted to having sexual fantasies about her.

"Almost every day for, like, ever," he admitted. Lydia just giggled.

"Switch places with me," he said, and Lydia got up on her knees. Stiles lay down and he said, "Straddle me, Lyds. I want you to ride me."

"Got any condoms?" she asked, almost as an afterthought. She was on the pill, so she was pretty okay with having unprotected sex with him, but she wasn't sure how he felt about it. She trusted him. He sighed, "No, I wasn't exactly expecting you to jump me."

Lydia shrugged and told him that she was on the pill and it was okay if he wanted to still go through with it. Taking a minute to ask, "What if you get pregnant?" he was surprised at her answer.

"I already have one kid, I'm really not that worried about it," came her reply, and Stiles wasn't sure what to think, but he thought _fuck it_. ""Ride me, Lyds. I can't wait to feel you."

So she slowly lowered herself down onto him. It had been almost two years since she had had sex the last time and even though she had a well-used vibrator, it definitely was _not_ the same. He was a little bit bigger than she was used to and she grimaced unintentionally.

"You okay?" he asked, noting the look on her face. She just nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "You're just a little bigger than I'm used to. It's a stretch. It doesn't hurt, not exactly, it's just…different."

"We can stop if you need to," he was saying, but Lydia shook her head.

"No, just give me a minute. It feels good, it's just a little…overwhelming."

Allowing herself time to adjust around him, she started moving slowly. A moan escaped her lips, "God, Stiles, you feel so fucking good."

Stiles knew he wasn't going to last long, but was determined to make Lydia come before he did. He looked at her, "Touch yourself for me, Lyds. I want you to come."

She reached down and rubbed her clit in slow circles and she shuddered, "I'm close, Stiles. Really fucking close."

"Do it, Lydia. Come on, come for me, I wanna see you."

She let go with a low moan, once again biting down on her lip so she wouldn't yell, and came around him. It felt absolutely fucking wonderful and he didn't last much longer after that. He exploded inside of her and let out a low moan as he did so.

He slid down off of him and curled up next to him, all of the sudden very sleepy, "God Stiles, I never imagined it would be like that. Sex has never felt like that before."

"You're special, Lyds, like I told you," Stiles said, kissing her on top of her head. "You were meant to be worshiped."

She smiled, "Thanks, Stiles. I mean it, thanks for everything." And with that, she fell into a dreamless sleep.


End file.
